


A Sommelier In Disguise

by WeirdSister



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alcohol, Cooking, Dinner, Drama, F/M, Post-War, Romance, Secret Identity, Wine
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:01:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23952736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WeirdSister/pseuds/WeirdSister
Summary: It’s Hermione’s turn to host a dinner party for the weekly cooking club. Trying to be an excellent host, she shops for a bottle of fine wine that would fit the meal. The owner of the small liquor store is none other than her former, supposedly dead, potions professor! He is trying to live the muggle life, in hiding from lurking death eaters.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Severus Snape
Comments: 3
Kudos: 26





	1. Chapter 1

It had been a long evening already at this particular home in London, but there were still some thrilling conversations being held at the long wooden table in Grimmauld Place. Hermione was one of the attendees in the dining room. She sat back in her chair and took another sip of her wine, while silently observing and enjoying the conversations happening around her.

At the moment, she was not participating in any of the conversations. But she didn’t feel excluded. Instead she smirked as she saw Harry opposite from her at the table, feeding his last bit of pudding to Ginny. Luna and Neville were engaging in a friendly discussion about the effects of different environments on mandrake roots. And next to Hermione, sat Ron. He was in a deep conversation with Dean on some of the latest news in Quidditch. She smiled, and she had to admit, she may be a little bit tipsy. But it was alright, everything was alright. She was there, enjoying this moment with her friends, just being happy and safe.

It had been a couple of months since they were all together like this, laughing and discussing other topics than the war. Ever since the final battle, they didn’t have the time to be in much contact with each other. And for a moment, it felt like they were all growing apart.

Hermione’s excuse was that she had been quite busy with her own problems in the months following Voldemort’s defeat. She had immediately travelled to Australia to find her parents. After a week of searching, she found them in Perth. But to no avail, she couldn’t restore their memories. She had cried, and mourned and reluctantly went back to the U.K. Back to the Burrow, maybe finding comfort in Ron’s arms. But when she stood at his doorstep, he said he had time to think while she was gone. And he told her that he would rather stay friends, that their kiss had been in the heat of the moment, and he loved her more like a sister. She was hurt, but could understand where he was coming from. She let him go. An emotional Hermione threw herself into her studies, to distract herself from her problems instead of facing them, and she even finished her education when she sat her N.E.W.T.S at the end of June.

Hermione hadn’t been in contact with her friends for over a month, she isolated herself while she was trying to heal. But 5 weeks ago, Harry had owled her. He had invited her over for dinner with him, Ginny and Ron. At the time, she didn’t imagine it would be a reoccurring event. But it had been so much fun, their conversations were light-hearted, and Harry had called it a dinner club of sorts. They would meet every Saturday evening, and every week more people joined their dinner club. This Saturday was no different.

Everyone seemed to be finished with their dessert, and the conversation died down a bit. Harry asked, “So… Who will be the one to host dinner next week?”, while he glanced around the table.

“Why don’t we pull straws? That could be fun and fair!” Ron exclaimed.

Ginny ignored him and stated, “Hm, maybe Hermione should host? It’s your birthday next Saturday, right?” as she looked Hermione’s way.

Hermione furrowed her brows; she hadn’t quite thought about that yet. “Well... Yes! That could be nice!” She smiled, “Also, I haven’t hosted yet, so that would be killing two birds with one stone”

The table nodded in agreement

“So that’s settled then, a birthday party and dinner in one.” smiled Harry.

Hermione nodded and smiled broadly; it had been a while since she had thrown a real birthday party.

Hermione had excused herself and had said her goodbyes half an hour later as she apparated to the doorstep of her small but cosy apartment. She turned the key in her lock and stepped inside. Just behind the door sat Crookshanks, already awaiting her upon her return back home.

“Hello Crooks, did you miss me already?” She asked her feline friend “I was only gone for a couple of hours.”

Crookshanks only meowed a bit grumpy in response to her as he walked towards his usual spot on the couch. Hermione followed, and petted him when he had settled in his dent in the corner.

“Oh well, I’m back now. You don’t have to stay up anymore.”

Hermione made her way over to her kitchen and put the kettle on the stove to make herself a cup of tea. It was a small kitchen, not quite big enough to host a three-course dinner. That worried her, would it all fit? On most nights she would just order takeout. If she did cook, she would do it the muggle way, just like her mother did.

With that thought, she perked up and almost ran towards her bookcase. It had to be somewhere right? But where had she put it away? Her collection of books wasn’t as organised as she wished it was, but she found it eventually. There, hidden down in the corner was what she was looking for. Her mother’s cookbooks. She would definitely be able to find an appetizing but easy recipe in there.

Hermione grabbed her cup of tea from the kitchen counter and sat cross-legged in her armchair. She opened _The Joy of Cooking_ and began reading the preface. She sat there in silence, reminiscing of the past, reading and smiling as she remembered her mother cooking and baking in the kitchen of her childhood home. Hermione would always sit and read at the kitchen table or would converse with her mother about their day. It was almost like she could smell the aroma of the dishes in the air. She fell asleep whilst trying to find the perfect recipe.

On the Friday afternoon before her birthday, Hermione found an owl tapping at her balcony window. She opened the door that led to her balcony and fed the owl a piece of one of the crackers that she kept by the windowsill. The owl hooted softly and waited so she could answer the letter.

_Hermione,_

_Could we squeeze in a couple more people tomorrow? Think 4 or 5? I told some people at the office about the dinner club and they would like to join!_

_Love,_  
_Harry_

Hermione laughed, as she grabbed a pen to reply on the back of the letter.

_Harry,_

_It’s very nice of you for wanting to include more people. I have a feeling people still feel quite isolated at times. So, if you want to bring more people that’s great! But I do think it will make the apartment quite cosy, bring them if they don't mind!_

_Love,_  
_Hermione_

Hermione gave the letter to the owl, it hooted friendly and made his way back to Harry.

She didn’t really mind a couple more people to tag along, but it meant that she had to buy a couple more supplies than expected. With a look at her watch, she figured that she had a couple more hours before the stores closed. She would have plenty of time to get all the groceries she would need, and she headed out to the market.

It was a busy afternoon in muggle London, the crowd pushing past her whilst she was heading towards a more secluded part of the city. Her bags were already full of herbs, rice and mushrooms to be able to cook a simple yet classy mushroom risotto. The rest of the ingredients she needed for her appetizer and dessert were already at home in her pantry. The only thing that was left on her list were complimentary drinks.

Hermione wasn’t familiar with this part of town and just wandered around for a bit. Then she stumbled upon a small local liquor store. _Lift Your Spirits Liquor Store_ the billboard had said. Perfect, this seemed like they could have the drinks she was looking for. The bell rang when she stepped inside.

The inside of the store had reminded her of the _Mr. Mullpepper’s Apothecary_ back in Diagon Alley, but instead of potion bottles and supplies, the shelves on the wall were neatly stocked with bottles of liquor, wine and beer. It was cosier than most of the chain stores she had visited in muggle London. But despite the cosiness, it seemed like the store was completely empty. Maybe the clerk was in the back, she figured. The wooden floor cracked under her feet as she made her way over to one of the shelves stocked with wine. Her fingers traced some of the bottles as she was browsing the many options available. She didn’t really know what sort of wine would fit her mother’s risotto; the cookbook hadn’t specified.

Without a warning, a low silky-smooth voice spoke from right behind her, “May I be of your assistance, Miss?”

Hermione jumped as she was startled by the sudden sound of the employee. She turned around and stared at him. The employee was a tall, dark figure. His hair was dark and swept up in a bun. He was dressed in uniform. A dark apron with underneath a black blouse of which he had casually rolled up his sleeves. He looked like he could be in his late thirties, maybe a bit older. There was something familiar about the way his dark eyes looked at her, but she couldn’t quite place it. His eyes widened, seeming a bit shocked, and shot up his brows. Then she noticed she was actually staring at him, mouth agape, instead of answering his question.

“Oh! Yes! Um, actually…” she stumbled, and smiled apologetically as she felt her cheeks turn a dark shade of pink, “I – I’m in need of a bottle of wine!

“Obviously” He drawled, looking unimpressed.

“Uh, yes, multiple actually. I’m hosting a dinner party tomorrow.”

“And what exactly are you serving, Miss?”

“Eh, let me see...” as she pulled out her notes and began reading her grocery list “My appetizer will be roasted vegetables containing sweet potatoes, broccoli, red peppers, red onions and cauliflower. My main course will be a mushroom risotto including shiitake, chestnut and girolle mushrooms, and my dessert is a vanilla ice cream with a homemade blackberry sauce.”

She looked back at him, feeling a little bit flustered. The clerk seemed to be thinking for a minute, then answered her, “Very well, for the appetizer you will need a riper wine. You stated that you’ll use sweet potatoes, right? So therefore, for you to balance the other elements in the dish I would recommend a rich Chardonnay, coming from Australia. This one would fit quite well” he said as he took a wine from the shelve, she was just staring at a couple minutes ago, and gave the bottle to her.

He made his way over to another shelve containing red wines “Furthermore, you have a mushroom risotto, the obvious choice would be a red wine with light to medium tannin. A Pinot Noir perhaps?” As he took another bottle and also gave that one to her.

“And finally, for your dessert… Blackberries.” He stopped and thought for a while. But eventually made his way over to the last shelf at the other side of the store. “I would pair the combination of vanilla ice cream and blackberries with a late harvest Zinfadel. It will give another layer of complexity to your dessert.” And he gave the last bottle to her.

“Oh, wow, thank you very much, sir” she said as she put the bottles on the counter, “I will take 3 of each, I trust your judgement.” And she did, the way he spoke about his wines reminded her of a certain professor lecturing her about the uses of fluxweed. Professional and to the point. These men could be related if she didn’t know better. But as far of her knowledge, Professor Snape was dead, with no living relatives remaining.

The employee made his was over to the counter and put her bottles in a bag “Is that all?”

“Yes, but thank you so very much,” she said gratefully, and she glanced at his nametag. “Expect me to seek more of your expertise Mr… Smith.” And she smiled at him.

“It will be my pleasure” He looked pleased as he handed her the bag full of carefully chosen bottles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so hello everyone! I'm WeirdSister, your author. 
> 
> I've been a reader on AO3 for the longest time, but this is my first story on here. It's been a long time since I have written anything, and English isn't even my native language! But I fell in love with the Hermione Granger/Severus Snape ship and felt really inspired to write this down.
> 
> So, if you have any feedback, i would be pleased to read your critiques, comments and encouragement!
> 
> Thank you for reading this, and I will try to adjust my writing to some of your critiques in following chapters!
> 
> Love,
> 
> WeirdSister <3


	2. Chapter 2

Hermione stood in the middle of her tiny apartment. She let out a deep exhale and put her hands on her waist as she admired her living room. She had just spent the last hour transfiguring most of her furniture and putting up charms. Her living room could pass as a temporary dining room of sorts now. It was more work than expected, because every time she thought she had it right, she spotted a little flaw in her spellwork and had to redo the entire thing. But she had to admit it, it was worth the effort. Her inner perfectionist was fulfilled.

It seemed like she had redone her entire apartment, which was not far from the truth. Her living room was completely transformed in comparison to an hour ago. A large dark oak wooden table stood in the middle of the small room. A white tablecloth covered the dark wood, and centrepieces made out of flowers and white candles stood in between the plates and cutlery. The furniture that usually stood in the place of the dining table, was shrunken down and sat in a small box on the windowsill. She had outdone herself, this was not as casual as the usual dinner parties at Harry’s or The Burrow. But it was also her birthday, so who could blame her for making it a bit more festive than expected.

Hermione smiled and appreciated the scene for a moment more. Perfect, she thought, this would be enough spellwork for the living room. And then, her timer went off and she turned around towards the kitchen.

She opened the oven, grabbed the tray of roasted vegetables and inserted them in a dish. She grabbed her wand out of her pocket and immediately put it under a statis charm. Hermione put the dish next to the other two meals on the kitchen countertop, which were already prepared and ready to grab. The charm she had put it under would keep the meals ready. This way she wouldn’t have to fus in the kitchen, as she kept her quests entertained.

A glance at her watch distressed Hermione, it was already half past six! Time flew by as she was preparing the living room and the food in the kitchen. She thought she would still have two hours to get ready herself. But her guests would be on her doorstep in less than half an hour

Hermione decided she would have the time to squeeze in a quick shower. After a 10-minute shower, she had put a towel in her hair and hurried towards her wardrobe. She wouldn’t be wearing anything fancy. Just a plaid skirt with a jumper would suffice, but it was a vast improvement from the T-Shirt and jeans she was wearing moments ago.

She had 15 minutes left. A smear of lipgloss and a little mascara made her look put together.

5 minutes, and she charmed her hair to the best of her ability. Even though it was far from good as _Sleekeazy’s Hair Potion_ , the unruly curls seemed to have been tamed a bit.

She took a last glance in the mirror as the last seconds run out, when she heard a knock on her door. This was the beginning of the anticipated night.

‘Wow, blimey Hermione, this is great! I never thought rice and cheese would be this good” said Ron, while stuffing his face with another bite of the risotto.

“It’s called Risotto, Ronald. It’s a dish from northern Italy, a classic.” Hermione replied, “I’m glad you like it” She laughed.

The number of people in her small living room, was probably the highest of number of people the flat had ever seen. It wasn’t uncomfortable though, quite cosy actually. Harry had dragged Draco Malfoy along. They were co-workers, and Harry had felt bad for his former classmate. Harry told Hermione quietly that he was in need of some socializing, because of the Malfoys fall from grace, Draco was socially stunned.

Hermione glanced over at him a few places over, and the blond seemed to be enjoying himself. After he was invited in, he apologised for his earlier behaviour in the years prior and hoped they could start over. Hermione had smiled and told him he was welcome. Now, he was in a conversation with George Weasley next to him. She couldn’t hear it, she sat at the head of the table, but they were laughing.

“I admire the effort you’ve put in tonight, especially the flowers.” Luna said, with a delighted smile, sitting just a few seats apart from her. Luna had pointed at the little flowers on the centrepiece, “Did you know that Baby’s Breath symbolizes for lasting love? Did you meet someone recently?”

Hermione blushed, “Thank you Luna, but I didn’t really think about it when I picked those” as she took another sip of her wine.

“Maybe it was a subconscious choice, Hermione” Neville joked, sitting in between the two girls.

Hermione snorted, “It’s not that deep, really. I don’t think love is in the cards for me.” She laughed.

Hermione took another bite of the risotto when Draco exclaimed, “Granger, honestly, I didn’t think you were the type to care about wine choice.” As he raised his glass to her.

She raised her glass back to him, “Thank you Malfoy, I’ve found a great place to get it.” She smiled.

“Oh really?”

“Yes, it was some obscure shop in muggle London.”

“I don’t really go there, was it any good?”

“Oh yes! The owner was very nice, he actually helped me with picking the wines out.”

Draco smirked, “If I’ll host next week, will you bring me the wine? It would be nice to have something different than the house elves’ choosing.”

Hermione sat back, as the whole table quieted down to listen. “Well, if everyone else agrees with those terms, then I would be glad to attain the wine.”

Harry seemed to be delighted to this announcement and nodded. Luna and George also nodded in agreement. And the sounds of agreements with the rest of the guests followed. And even Ron, who still despised Draco even after Harry had already made amends with the boy, had nodded hesitantly in agreement.

Hermione smiled and stood up. “Very well then, if that’s agreed upon. Who’s ready for ice cream?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry, it's kind of a short chapter. 
> 
> I have a lot of exams and projects to prepare for. I think I'll be writing a lot more when those are done. 
> 
> But I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Critiques will be welcomed and respected!


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